Quibi's epic fall and the future of books

The Vergecast

Today on the flagship podcast of what the future of Kindle turns out to be:

We’re once again trying out a couple of our favorite new show formats.

In Version History, we talk through the whole story of Quibi, from its early days as NewTV to its extremely ill-timed launch to its ultimate demise.

• From Variety: Quibi Has Raised $1.75B After Closing $750M Round to Fund Launch
• From Variety: Jeffrey Katzenberg’s NewTV Closes $1B, Major Studios Among Investors
• Quibi’s CES 2020 launch
• Quibi app review: short-form streaming in a shifting landscape
• Steven Spielberg is writing a horror series you’ll only be able to at night
• Quibi’s Super Bowl 2020 commercial
• From The Wall Street Journal: Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman Struggle With Their Startup—and Each Other
• How Quibi imploded less than six months after launch
• 11 reasons why Quibi crashed and burned in less than a year

Next, we try out our as-yet-untitled debate show. The Verge’s Kevin Nguyen and Alex Cranz take on a surprisingly contentious topic: is the future of books print or digital?

• The Boox Palma is an amazing gadget I didn’t even know I wanted
• Kobo’s great color e-readers are held back by lock-in
• From The Wall Street Journal: How the Kindle Became a Must-Have Accessory (Again)
• The Playdate makes a surprisingly good e-reader

Later, producer Andru Marino answers a question from The Vergecast Hotline about a very unusual shopping situation for MP3 players.

• NW-E394 Walkman Digital Music Player
• Mighty’s ‘iPod shuffle for Spotify’ gets upgraded battery and Bluetooth

Email us at [e-mail] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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